Tears He Didn't Cry
by Lovely Moonlight Maiden
Summary: Rocket Power-Reggie claims her life before the move to England after Tito ----.How long will it take Otto to admit his pain to the only two people who can help him when his father...
1. It's Too Late

"Guess what kids! We're going out!" Ray shouted as he entered the door.  
  
"Cool. Where to Dad?" Reggie asked, coming down the stairs.  
  
"England!"  
  
"Huh? What's so great in England?" Otto asked standing by his sister.  
  
"Jobs."  
  
"You're kidding! We can't leave Ocean Shores!" Reggie cried hysterically.  
  
"I'm afraid we have to. You know, with Tito gone, the Shack has just gone under. I'm sorry, but I've got a sister out in England who has a friend who has job openings."  
  
"But what about Sam and Twister? We can't just...go! It can't be like that!" Otto shouted, almost in tears. He wouldn't let his tears out, never do that, never.  
  
"We can go, and we have to. That's all there is. We're leaving in three weeks."  
  
"NO! I WON'T GO!" Reggie hollered, tears coming down her cheeks.  
  
"Regg, I-"  
  
"NO!" She shouted, running up the stairs.  
  
"I gotta go out Dad, I'll be back...sometime." Otto said miserably, walking out the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
"NO! Otto, you're my Best Bro! I can't do anything without you! Now you're just going to leave? It's not fair of him! He can't take you and Regg away from us!" Twister shouted, pacing up and down in his room. Otto had just explained the situation.  
  
"I don't have a choice. I just, I mean, you're a real friend Twist. Thanks. When we go, don't forget me. K?"  
  
"I'll never forget you Man."  
  
"Thanks...Maurice." Otto said, putting out a forced laugh and running from his provoked friend.  
  
  
  
  
  
Reggie sat in her room crying. No one would ever understand her.  
  
Sure, Otto has Twister. Otto has Sam even. But I could never be like this in front of Trish or Sherri. They're different. Besides, Twist will be sad enough losing Otto, I'd only hurt him by sitting there and crying. Besides, what would I expect from him? She thought. What's sitting in her room for the day going to hurt?  
  
Two days later, Ray had brought home large packing boxes. Reggie hadn't emerged from her room except to use the bathroom. What harm could staying there for a few days do? Ray had gotten Otto to begin packing.  
  
If we get out a week early, wee get extra money from the buyers, that's what we need right now, money. That's all. It'll all be over soon and I'll be settled down someplace good for the kids. It'll be safe and nothing will ever go wrong again. There aren't any murderers in England. Even as Ray thought it, he knew it was wrong. But he just needed that something to hold onto; something that said his decision was the right one.  
  
One week later, Reggie still hadn't eaten or spoken. Otto couldn't take it anymore. He went up to her room. She hadn't gotten the boxes placed there the other day. Otto knocked and got no response. He opened the door...  
  
"DAD!" he shouted, "DAD! HELP!" ray bolted up the stairs, his children were all he'd had left. If anything happened to them now...it would be over for him. He knew he couldn't be that way, he'd have to go on, but he knew he wouldn't last long. Reggie lay on the floor, a pool of blood around her. Her blood. Her blood on the vase. Bits of the vase in her head, bits of the vase straight through her body. The blood, that's what brought in the reality. Reggie had killed herself. She'd never made a sound.  
  
"Otto, go, go call the hospital."  
  
"Dad, it's too late."  
  
"THEN CALL THE POLICE!"  
  
"Dad, it's too late."  
  
"GOD DAMNIT KID, CALL SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP THEN!"  
  
"Dad, I'll call the funeral home."  
  
"No, my baby's not dead. She's not. It's never too late."  
  
"Dad, it's too late." Otto whispered. But still, he wouldn't cry.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
HI HI HI HI HI HI HI! I'm really really really tired, so this chapie is only two pages long! Well, if you like Reggie, you were warned about her death before you read the fic, so don't flame for that reason please! If you like it, tell me and I'll continue! 


	2. Enchanted Sunset

*Sobs* HOW COULD I KILL REGGIE???? I'M A BAD AUTHOR!!!! Anyway, it's the next chapter now, and Otto is in a real situation along with Ray.  
  
They've already moved to England and at the moment ray and Otto live with ray's sister Sage. Ray is currently working with a foreign currency firm, and making good money for it. Otto goes to school, and is already prepared for the day he and his father will move to their own house. They do, however, plan to stay in the same neighborhood as Sage, as she has become an important part in the torn lives of Ray and Otto.  
  
"Otto! Wake up! You've got school in half an hour!" Sage called up the stairs. Ray had already left.  
  
"Coming, I'm coming." He replied groggily. Sage has no children, and Otto almost wishes she has a daughter, only almost. Just enough to realize how much more it would make him miss his own sister, now buried within the earth of Ocean Shores, the land she'd sworn not to leave.  
  
"Okay, there's eggs and bacon on the stove, milk and juice in the fridge, pastry in the oven, anything else I'm sure you can find Hon. But I've got to get to work, the bus will stop at the entrance of the development in 15 minutes, I'd love to stay and see you off, but I really can't. Your father and I will both be there to pick you up though. Bye Otto!" Sage said, walking out the door.  
  
"Bye!" he called. He wondered vaguely if his mother had been like her. She was so kind and helpful to him. He was glad that they'd stay near her, she seemed so warm, the mother he never had. He thought briefly if he wanted his mother to be alive as he ate. No, he decided, because he never would've met his aunt, though they might not have had to move and Reggie would still be alive...  
  
He stood at the stop. There was a girl there who looked about his age. The old him would've been thrilled to make a new friend. But this wasn't the old him. This was the Otto Rocket that wore black and didn't speak to anyone. Too bad though, she came over to him.  
  
"So, you're the new kid?" she asked. He could imagine her in a gang. She had dark eyes and was wearing a tight crimson lace shirt over black, giving the impression of blood stained shadows. She had on baggy black pants that dragged the ground.  
  
"Yeah. My name's Otto. You?"  
  
"Alanby. What brought you here?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"Suit yourself. Two busses usually pass by here. Ignore the first one. The second one, 52, is the one we want."  
  
"Thanks." He said. He figured that was the end of the conversation because she didn't say anything more. She didn't give the impression of being real to him. Maybe because most of the people he'd known in Ocean Shores were pretty shallow, and she was harder to figure out.  
  
On the bus, no one spoke to him. They gave him strange glances that seemed undecided. Many people spoke to Alanby, though she didn't react to any of them. School was pretty much the same. The only people who spoke to him were the teachers and his guide. Alanby proved herself capable of human emotion though when they got off the bus. She looked sad as she watched Otto walk with Sage and Ray.  
  
Later that night, about six, the sun was about to set. The doorbell rang, and Sage answered it.  
  
"Otto! Someone's here to see you!" she called. When Otto came to the door, he saw Alanby.  
  
"I'm going for a walk, do you want to come?" Otto looked to Sage who nodded her head to say it was fine.  
  
"Sure." He said. They walked in silence, but as she brought him to a grassy hill, she looked directly into his eyes.  
  
"So, why are you so sad?"  
  
"You said anything about being sad?"  
  
"You're eyes. Just tell me. You can trust me."  
  
"We had to move here when my dad's business went under."  
  
"Why'd that happen?"  
  
"There was this guy around...he was a murderer, and Tito was closing late. Dad had already gone, so Tito was alone. You get it."  
  
"So, it was the death of Tito and the loss of your friends that makes you sad?"  
  
"My sister didn't want to go, and she committed suicide. She always seemed stronger than that to me." she looked down.  
  
"Death was never got along with me. My father and brothers were murdered in mob incidents. That's a death toll of three for me."  
  
"That's harsh. Is that why you wanted me to come with you? To find out what was wrong?"  
  
"Well, not really. I brought you because I already knew something was up, and the sunset kinda seems enchanted. If you watch it close enough, you see the ones you lost, and you hear them talking to you back when everything was alright. For that one moment before the sun departs, you're wherever you want to be."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"I know so. I've sat here countless days to see my father and brothers again. Just in that instant, they sit with me. You just wait. You're sister and Tito will be right there." Otto saw her gazing into the light amongst the clouds. He looked too, and just before the sun left, he saw Reggie waving to him in her hockey gear, waiting for him to get in the game.  
  
"Hurry up Rocket Boy!" she said. Tito was on the sidelines with a camera. Twister shot him the puck. He passed it to his sister who rammed it into the net. All in an instant. Just one second.  
  
"Thanks." He said to Alanby.  
  
"Sure. So, you going to be here tomorrow?"  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
"Sure you will."  
  
That night Otto sat in the living room watching tapes that Twister had made for him. Pictures of him skating and their games and how full of life he'd been. How they'd all been together. That was supposed to last forever. But, nothing was how it was supposed to be anymore. The memories and his dad were all that were left of his past life. And he cried. 


	3. Deal

A little over a week had passed since Otto had first met Alanby and watched the sunset with her. Now they made a point to go out every day around six. She seemed so strong to him that she never cried while sitting there. But then, neither did he. Today is Friday. Alanby and Otto sit on the hill, awaiting the sunset.  
  
"So Otto, what did you do in Ocean Shores?" Alanby asks.  
  
"I skated and surfed."  
  
"Really why don't you anymore? I mean, you can't surf here, you'd freeze your ass off, but there's plenty of places to skate!"  
  
"Because I always did that stuff with my old friends. It just wouldn't feel right without Reggie and Twister. It would ever feel wrong without Sammy hollering about safety behind me."  
  
"Well, that's stupid to give up!"  
  
"And you never gave up anything?" she is silent a moment.  
  
"Okay, I'll make a deal with you. You teach me to skate, and I'll teach you to ride."  
  
"Horses?"  
  
"HELL NO! Motorcycles, dirt bikes, anything with two wheels and a motor."  
  
"Don't you need a license to drive? If you hadn't noticed, we're 14."  
  
"Nope. Not if you race. They even have a jr. league for 5 year olds!"  
  
"Alright then, deal. Wait, you gave up racing? That's extreme! For something that must've taken so much time, that's like you quit breathing!"  
  
"Lay off. I'll be back in competition when you are." They pause a moment as the sun takes it's leave.  
  
"They have skating competitions here?"  
  
"Yeah. We've got some of the best here in England! You didn't think much of us when you moved in, did you?"  
  
"Well, not really. I learn fast though."  
  
"Is there anything you didn't give up?"  
  
"Nah, my whole life was outdoors. You?"  
  
"Well, I umm," she sighs, "I sing." under her breath.  
  
"That's cool. Will you sing for me?"  
  
"I...I could." She said, blushing slightly.  
  
"Well, I'm waiting Madonna."  
  
"Phft. Don't hold your breath. I said I could, not that I would. I don't want to, I mean, sure I didn't quit, and I still take lessons, but it's just kinda, I dunno, embarrassing. "  
  
"That's not fair. Sing little canary bird! Croon!"  
  
"It's weird, I've recorded, but no one's ever really asked me to sing. Not even the studio. I just, do, or I don't. I'm in a don't mood."  
  
"Well you must be good. C'mon, just sing something."  
  
"Fine. LALALA. There, you happy?" she says sarcastically.  
  
"No."  
  
"Too bad. Can we change the subject?"  
  
"Ugh. Fine, fine. You choose."  
  
"Wish."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Wish! The stars, just wish." She says, pointing at the sky.  
  
"Nothing I wish for can ever some true." He says sadly.  
  
"Aww c'mon Rocket Boy, what can it hurt?"  
  
"Don't call me that. Hey, where are you going?" he asks as she walks off.  
  
"Home!"  
  
"So you're just going to abscond me?"  
  
"Well, no, you're invited! My mom wants to meet you anyway." They walked in silence. Though it is dark, Otto can still see Alanby gazing at the stars and sky. There is a sign in front of the house, but Otto can't see the writing.  
  
"ALANBY! You know to let me know before you take off!" a woman says angrily as the pair enter.  
  
"I left a note Mom. See, there it is on the table like always." Alanby replies.  
  
"Oh. So who is this?" Alanby's mother responded.  
  
"Otto Rocket. I wanna get him acquainted with the bikes so we're-"  
  
"You're a saint Otto! I've been trying to get her in the garage for at least 6 months!"  
  
"Uhh, thanks, I think." Otto was violently reminded of Violet Stimpleton. Alanby sighs heavily.  
  
"C'mon RB, we've got work." The duo sits in Alanby's garage assembling two dirt bikes and going over basic operation for three hours.  
  
  
  
"Otto," Ray booms, "You're late."  
  
"Uh, sorry Dad?"  
  
"And?"  
  
"And I should've told you I'd be out."  
  
"Good enough. You're filthy, where've you been?"  
  
"Assembling bikes with Alanby. She teaches me to ride, and I teach her to skate."  
  
"Sounds like fun. Alanby hasn't ridden in forever." Sage says.  
  
"I'm glad you're making friends." Ray says.  
  
"Uh-oh. Anyone friends with Alanby gets the pleasure of a wake up call when it's still dark to see the sunrise. Better go to bed early. I'll swear to god that girl's obsessed with the sun." Sage assumes.  
  
"I'm not even gunna ask how you know that cause I wouldn't put it past her. Night Aunt Sage, night Dad." Otto called, walking upstairs to shower and sleep. 


	4. Emotional Overkill

When you can't get any lower, don't you have to start going up?  
  
"What do we wait for? A new day? A new chance? Or is it new hope that we are in search of?"  
  
There's something to be said for lost souls. They don't lose what they'd worked for. You can die, but you can never stop remembering. It's painful sometimes, but it's the way it is. - Kat  
  
Well, that's my little bit of wisdom for today. I'm going to start the next chapter of my story. (I don't own Rocket Power, don't sue me!)  
  
  
  
It's the next day. Alanby appears promptly at 4:30 am. She's taking Otto past her house up a steep trail on the mountainside. They sit in a clearing on the top and await the sun. At 5:30, the sun materializes. The rays seem to dance upon the top of a thousand trees.  
  
"Beautiful, init?" Alanby says.  
  
"Yeah, I never really thought about sunset." Otto replies.  
  
"When you face change like death or moving far from what was home, everything has to change. That's how it works. Things you never thought about before will suddenly hold so much more meaning."  
  
"When Dad said he had to move for work, I felt like I'd lost everything. But, I still had my family. Then Reg... you know."  
  
"As much as it hurts, you have to learn to depend on yourself sometimes. That yesterday, that wasn't my real mother. I never met her. That's my stepmother. I don't have any blood family. True, it's havoc on my mind knowing this, but I can fend for myself should the need arise."  
  
"I'd never meant to make friends here. But at the bus-stop, you made me an ally."  
  
"No big deal. I'm glad. I have this...posse that I can talk to, but I can't be myself the way I am around you."  
  
"You saved me."  
  
"Otto, what'd'ya mean?" Her voice is shaky.  
  
"My Dad, I know him. He's not good at hiding stuff. He's gunna crack soon. He's just gunna go insane. I knew that when Reggie took her life and I knew it when Tito died. He was gone. He still is. I was ready to go be with Reggie and leave that insanity that'd broken out. I would've killed myself without a second thought."  
  
"Otto..." She began, tears in her eyes as she shook her head disbelievingly. He rested his head on her shoulder as she put an arm around him, his body shaking.  
  
I've never cried in front of anyone! Why is she any different? Otto questions himself.  
  
"Thanks for saving me." he says, rather than raise the query bobbing in his mind.  
  
"Don't ever hurt yourself. It isn't worth it. If it doesn't work, you're in for a hell of a lot of pain." She releases him and lifts her sleeve to reveal scars on her wrists.  
  
"I did that hoping to get rid of the pain and guilt I felt. Instead, I was landed in the hospital for a week and I'm still shoved into a rehabilitation center once a month. That's a lot worse than breaking ribs of a leg when you fall off a bike going 190 mph. Promise me you won't ever so that to yourself."  
  
"What made you feel like you had to do that? What did you do that was so wrong you had to take your own life?"  
  
"Tell me you won't Otto!"  
  
"I gotta go Alley. TTYL." He says, walking away quickly.  
  
"OTTO!" She screams after him.  
  
A dirt bike revs loudly. Now the hum of the motor is constant. Otto walks to Alanby's house, but hovers in the trees around her "track" which is no more than a large mud ring with makeshift jumps. Alanby seems content with it though. Otto estimates that she's going about 75 mph on her third lap, and 90 on the next. She seems to sense the danger on the turns and jumps and resides on this speed.  
  
(Note: Racing dirt bikes generally reach a maximum of 100 in 6th gear, and motorcycles in 6th gear get to 195, but by a professional, they've reached 200.)  
  
It's emotion that presses her on. The anger and sorrow locked within her. There's bitter memories on her tongue from Otto's confession. Moose could've been there and called her a wimp for wanting to protect Otto. Or Jenny, she'd be furious that Alanby has admitted her attempt and failure. They're memories and personalities are a vengeance she can't kill, they're already dead. She gets the pleasure of killing they're murderers. Why not? What part of the word will miss them?  
  
Otto is still watching from the woods. He feels envious. That's the old him pushing out. The new Otto Rocket feels awe and concern, but the old one is still shouting about how much better he'll be once he learns to ride. The voice that he'd pushed away, feeling disgusted with, is tempting to give into... 


	5. Answers

I'm BAAACK! Thanks Wild Fire, even though you're ripping me away from the Inuyasha script I've been reading for the past three days and am now obsessed and in love with, I needed to update.  
  
DISclaimer- need I say it? @~ @~ @~  
A month has passed (Hehe, more like two in the real world) since Otto had first gotten onto a bike and Alanby into skates. Otto and Alanby are walking home from the bus stop.  
  
"Hey Otto, I gotta stop by the mailboxes." Alanby says, walking off to the left.  
  
"I'll come with ya. No point walking alone." Otto replies, following her. Alanby unlocks a mailbox labeled "Tempest." She flipped briefly through the envelopes, looking at the subjects. Her eyes widen as she frantically rips open a letter addressed to her.  
  
"YES! Otto, I've been accepted to an invitational for motorcross!" She screams hugging him.  
  
"Wow! You must be pretty good." He says with a slight mocking smile.  
  
"Maybe. C'mon, practice with me!"  
  
"Alanby, I know for a fact you have more homework than I do."  
  
"Man, bailing on me now?" she says accusingly. Sure, Otto didn't want to do his homework, but he felt fear around her just then by the way she was pressuring him.  
  
"Yeah, sorry. I just don't want to fail math." He says as he starts walking away.  
  
"Fine, whatever man." She says angrily, running up through the woods as a shortcut to her house.  
"Hey Otto!" Sage said as Otto walked in the door. "What's the matter?" she asks, seeing Otto's disheartened face.  
  
"Well, have you ever felt like there's...I dunno, something seriously wrong with one of your friends?" he replies, looking to his aunt.  
  
"Alanby troubles?" she asks with a small grin.  
  
"I get bad vibes from her sometimes. She'll be fine and everything'll be great, and al of a sudden she just changes."  
  
"Well, if this was any girl but her, I'd say she's got hormonal issues, but, she really does have problems."  
  
"Like what?" Otto asks curiously.  
  
"Well, for one, her entire family is dead. Gang accident."  
  
"I knew that."  
  
"Did you know it wasn't an accident? She's a part of that gang her family lead. I suppose she still is, she still was after they died anyway. There's a reason she might be violent."  
  
"Oh..." Otto says, looking away, feeling slightly guilty for reasons unknown to him.  
  
"I'm not done. As of now she's on antidepressants."  
  
"Why's she depressed?"  
  
"Antidepressants are used for a lot more than treating depression. She's on them for panic attacks. If you want to know more, I'd put on some heavy body armor and ask her yourself." Sage replies.  
  
"I'm gunna do my homework." He says, heading up to his room, thinking about what his aunt's just told him.  
  
Gang, huh? He thinks to himself, I wonder if she's ever hurt someone.  
Otto walks up to Alanby's door and knocks.  
  
"Hey Otto." She replies cheerfully, standing aside to let him in.  
  
"Can we talk?" Otto asks, monitoring her response.  
  
"About what?" she replies, her happy face still on.  
  
"Gang violence."  
  
"Why?" she's guarded now.  
  
"Well, I wondered. Cause I heard that you used to be in a gang, and I thought maybe-"  
  
"They were wrong. Forget it."  
  
"No! We're gunna talk about this, and we're gunna talk about it NOW." He ordered, pleased to see shock on her face when she hears his harsh response. He hears a sigh of resignation from her.  
  
"What?" she asks sulkily.  
  
"Have you ever hurt anyone?" he hears her laugh loudly.  
  
"Why do you think my family's dead? Other gangs only retaliate. Moose, Jenny and I went in and killed about 5 people." She says indifferently.  
  
"Who are Moose and Jenny?"  
  
"My brother Mark and friend Jenny."  
  
"I see. Have you done anything like that since?"  
  
"Phft. That's a stupid question. Of course! Do you think I'm just going to stand by when someone hurts me? I inherit that gang and I have able men and five women ready to fight with me. The little mother fuckers got a taste of revenge in cold blood."  
  
"Do you live in fear of them?"  
  
"Of course not. They would never be brave enough to strike back."  
  
"Why do you have panic attacks?" she looks at him, knowing he played her into this trap.  
  
"Doctors haven't been able to determine the cause of panic attacks." she replied coolly.  
  
"No, but you have. Alanby, come clean. If you can't tell me the truth, who can you tell it to?"  
  
"Hell if I know. Go away Otto, before I kill you too." She says threateningly.  
  
"I know you better than that Alanby. You never let your anger out. Not until recently. What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing you need to know about. Get OUT now." With that, Otto leaves, most of his questions answered, though his trust in her diminished.  
@~~ @~~ @~~ @~~ @~~ @~~ @~~  
  
Ahh, short, sorry. My brain's busted. I'll update when someone drives guilt into me again. 


End file.
